


Jewel Box

by Luaburachid



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: F/M, First Kiss, Gift Giving, Some Flashbacks, Zutara Secret Santa, a tiny bit of angst but mostly fluff I guess, finale divergence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-03
Updated: 2021-01-03
Packaged: 2021-03-13 18:13:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,515
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28532706
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Luaburachid/pseuds/Luaburachid
Summary: "You left some stars in my belly."
Relationships: Katara/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 8
Kudos: 44





	Jewel Box

**Author's Note:**

  * For [lightsofblue](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lightsofblue/gifts).



* * *

_Star crossed child's love on the bands of wedding gold  
Silver studs of promise hide in the red crushed velvet folds_

__

__

_Jewel box of sadness  
Bring to catch your tears  
Crystalized illusions shine forgotten here  
Jewel box of sadness  
Bring to catch your tear  
Oh, you left some stars in my belly  
You left some stars in my belly_

-Jeff Buckley

* * *

"Hi", he said sheepishly as she passed through the huge doors of his bedchamber.

"Hi, are you okay? Is it hurting?", Katara asked in hurry and brought a hand to rest above the _exact_ spot on his abdomen, almost as if she could see the star-shaped flesh underneath layers of regalia and bandages.

"I'm fine, it's fine", Zuko placed his own hand over hers to reassure her, "that's not why I called you here".

"Oh", she retracted her hand, as quickly as if his clothes had suddenly caught on fire, "Then why did you want to see me?" 

"I wanted to give you something."

Maybe his clothes _had_ caught on fire, that would explain why she saw heat creeping its way up to his face for a fraction of second before he turned around and walked to his desk, taking a small box from one of its many drawers.

"Here", he handed her the box, avoiding her eyes and bringing his free hand to scratch the back of his neck.

Katara studied it for a moment, tracing the delicate floral embroidery for agonizingly long five seconds that seemed to have stretched for hours. Then, she proceeded to open it so gently that one would think she held crystal in her hands instead of thick wood. A silver hairpin glistening against the dark brown of the box. It had the shape of a stone rose and a tiny diamond on the tip of each petal. 

"Zuko", she gasped, _you remembered that_ , gaze fixed on the jewel, "this is beautiful".

"I'm glad you liked it", he sighed in relief and forced a chuckle to escape his lips, "I had it made for you".

She darted a glance in his direction but quickly found the hairpin once more. Had she allowed her eyes to find his the funny feeling in her stomach would for sure have climbed all the way up to her cheeks.

* * *

"How much rice do we need to buy?", Zuko questioned as he turned his head to look at Katara from over his shoulder, only to find out she wasn't there. _Did someone recognize her? I should've known Ember Island wouldn't be safe. How could someone take her away in the middle of a crowded marketplace without causing a scene?_ He felt the panic rising within him as he franticly looked around for her, _I should've come alone, if someone took her, they can't have gone much far- Oh!_ he sighed, _there she is._ He spotted the red hood of her cloak in front of the nearest stand, only about six meters away.

"Are those real flowers?" she asked as he got to her side - _before he could voice how worried he had been_ \- pointing to some vases on the back of the stand.

"Yeah", he looked quizzically at her, "those are stone roses".

She squeezed her eyes to try to take a better look, "are they as solid as they seem?"

"Uhum, they are very strong. You barely need to water them, only when the soil is dry, and they can endure extreme temperature changes."

"I would've never guessed you were a flower expert", one of her eyebrows raised to tease him.

"I'm not", he huffed, "I just know a little about the ones that we used to have in the palace's garden, which is the case with stone roses".

"What a shame", she smirked, "botanical knowledge would come in handy whenever Sokka tries to eat a weird plant".

"I guess he'll just have to keep trying them to see if they're safe for us."

She laughed and adverted her stare back to the plant vases. "I've never seen anything quite like those. People always associate flower's delicacy and beauty to their fragility, but those are delicate _and_ strong, pretty _and_ tough."

 _Like you_ , he thought and immediately thanked all the gods above for not letting the words slip out of his mind. "Do you wanna buy some?" He offered already taking his hand to his pocket to grab their coin bag.

"No, no", she reached for his arm to stop him midway. "We are already spending a lot on those theatre tickets for tonight", she smiled softly but it didn't reach her eyes, "let's go buy that rice we came here for", she took his arm and led them to the food stand where Zuko had been just a couple minutes before.

* * *

"I loved it but... Why are you giving me this?" Katara asked while running her fingers along the silver petals.

"Well...", he started tentatively, "you seemed to have liked the stone roses that day we went to the mark-"

"No, Zuko", she interrupted, "I loved them, I think they are my favorite and this... This is perfect", she smiled and locked her eyes on him, "but why are you gifting me?"

"it's a _thank you_ gift", he answered promptly.

"What are you thanking me for?"

"Are you kidding me? You saved my life, Katara", his voice got softer and he reached for his nape again.

"And you almost died saving _mine_ ", she got a step closer to him, " _I'm the one who should be thanking you_ , remember?" She searched for his gaze but it was pointing sideways.

"I'm not thanking you _exclusively_ for that. I guess I just wanted to say-", he found her big, curious eyes, "- _thank you, for everything_ ". He sighed. 

"Thank you for trying to help me in Ba Sing Se."

She could see his lips twitching a bit at the mention of the city.

"Thank you for forgiving me."

_You earned my forgiveness._

"Thank you for taking care of everyone and everything in our group."

_I wasn't doing it alone anymore after you joined us, you helped me._

"Thank you for all of our talks."

_They were special for me too._

"Thank you for ending the war."

"What?!" This time she spoke instead of just thinking. "We all did it together."

"Well, yeah, but it all started and ended with _you_." 

She began to open her mouth to protest but he continued: " _You_ took Aang out of that iceberg and _you_ defeated Azula. Even with Aang defeating my father, if it wasn't for you, my sister would've become Firelord and Agni only knows when there would be another chance to end the war."

"Zuko-"

"If there's peace now, if I'm being crowned today, it's all because of _you_."

"Zuko-"

" _And_ ", he interrupted again, "I know you think we're even on _this one_ but thank you for healing me, and for having continued to heal me when the royal physicians could've taken care of it."

* * *

"Excuse me, Master Katara", Iroh's voice surprised her, breaking her concentration and making some drops of the glowing water fall on the bed sheets. "Dinner is already served, we are waiting for you."

"I'll be skipping dinner tonight, General Iroh", she turned her head around and found him standing by the door frame, he had his brows furrowed in worry. "I had warned my brother earlier, he probably forgot about it", she managed to use her softer, calmer tone.

"Just Iroh, please." He walked towards her. "And actually, it was your brother who sent me here. _'The only person as stubborn as my sister is Zuko so if you know how to talk some sense into him maybe you can try doing the same to her'_ ", he quoted Sokka's request. "He's worried about you."

"I know", she sighed.

"Have some faith in our doctors, they know everything there is to know about lightning wounds", he reassured. "Unconsciousness was expected. He'll most likely wake up tomorrow, as they said".

"I'm not doubting their knowledge", she reasoned, keeping her eyes on the water above Zuko's abdomen, "but none of them is a healer and I think I still have more healing to do tonight." The last part was a lie. She felt a bit guilty about it but she didn't have the energy to explain that she simply _needed_ to stay there.

"Well, it would be too foolish of me to think I can argue with a master waterbender on this matter. I fully trust you to take care of my nephew, Katara, but please don't forget you need to take care of yourself too, and that includes resting. I think leaving this room for more than twenty minutes would be refreshing for you mind, body and soul." He bowed and began to make his way out of the bedchamber. 

Katara offered him a small, sad smile. She counted his footsteps as he walked away. _fifteen, sixteen, sevent_ \- she turned to look when they came to a halt. 

"I also think Zuko would want you to celebrate with your friends, to eat properly and to sleep comfortably through the night instead of curled up on a récamier by the end of his bed". He proceeded to take the four steps that separated him from the exit. 

When the hitting of his shoe soles against the marble was no longer audible, she put the healing water back inside her pouch and allowed her tears to fall. More and more kept running down like glistening needles and dying melted on the red velvet blanket. 

"I bet you _would_ want all of those things", she ran her fingers through his hair, taking some loose strands away from his closed eyes. "I bet you'd think you're not important enough to prevent me from celebrating that a century of war has just ended". She tried to swallow the lump in her throat. It just kept growing. "You have no idea of how important you are". _To me, specially._

"How am I supposed to celebrate without you?" She knew no answer would follow; the silence stung nonetheless.

Her eyes moved away from his face and rested on the starburst that now marked his skin. "I'm sorry the battle left you another scar. I'm sorry your sister left you another scar. I'm sorry _I_ left you another scar". She ghostly traced its edges, damp from the healing and the tears. "It's a bit fainter than when you last saw it yesterday right after we got here but I can't make it vanish... At least not with _this_ water."

"Once you get better I can try getting some more from the Spirit Oasis if you want to." She whispered to him but mostly to herself, "I don't think it's necessary". Her hand cupped the left side of his face. The feeling of the rough skin obliged her to wander through the memories of months before. Just like then, he had his lids closed. Just like then, uncertainty filled the air. However, then they were surrounded by glowing green crystals; now the world was red and gold. And he looked so pale, so fragile against all the red and gold. So cold with the amber of his eyes too hidden to warm her. 

_But at least you're still breathing_. At least his chest kept rising and falling like a ripple that never breaks on the shore, a ripple trapped always rising and falling in the middle of an eternal sea. Whenever she blinked, her trembling eyelids made her own tears ripple. Closing her eyes felt like having them wide open under the water, watching the ripples rising and falling as they run towards their end. She hopes he won't meet the coast. _He's not a wave yet, it's not his fate to break._ It's too soon for him to fall without rising again. _The physicians said he'll be fine, he's stable_. She knows that, but she can't help being terrified. She fears that if she leaves his side, she'll come back to find a still sea later. _Stillness can't come_. Not when his life is just beginning. _Not when there's still so much I need to tell you._

* * *

"Did you think half a dozen of your country's best doctors would be enough to get you rid of me?", she joked, a smirk growing on her face, "you're gonna have to try harder next time".

" _Way_ harder I presume", it was his time to smirk, "uncle told me you barely left my side while I was passed out". 

"In case you didn't know, by-your-side is a place where I like to be". A big part of her courage seemed to have escaped her body along with those words. Hearing her own voice pronouncing them made her entire face feel burning hot.

"I'll miss having you there", he blurted out with a hint of shyness and another of sadness.

Gathering all the bravery she still had, she flung her arms around his neck to hug him. Just like the first time, she caught him by surprise. However, just like the first time, he didn't hesitate to wrap his arms around her waist. The edge of the jewel box she still had in hand bumped into his back but he couldn't bring himself to care.

"I'll miss you everywhere, Zuko."

He held her even closer, maybe trying to get their embrace as tight as his heart felt. "You'll be attending uncle's tea shop's opening in two months, right?"

"Uhum". He could feel more than see her nodding her head. "And you'll be visiting the south for the Summer Solstice Festival, right?"

"Of course", he whispered, "I can't miss the chance to apologize to your grandmother". 

"You're stupid", she chuckled, "but I'll write to you in spite of that, all the time". She leaned back a bit, only to put enough distance between them so she could lightly poke his chest with her index finger: "And I expect you to do the same".

"I will", he promised. "Probably to the extent that it will start to annoy you and you'll complain to your brother whenever a new letter from me arrives but you'll continue to answer them because you're too kind for your own good."

She laughed and shook her head. That was so absurd. So absurd that he thinks hearing from him could ever annoy her. So absurd that she was excited to receive letters from the Firelord, a boy that months ago was her enemy. It was just _so so so absurd_ that she had fallen for him. 

"What are you laughing at?" He raised his eyebrow ironically, "I'm being super serious".

Instead of answering with words, she brought her lips to his. 

It was a bit shy, though not even slightly unsure. It was sweet and it was theirs. 

In his arms, with the gift he gave her in one hand and his lightning scar under the other, her heart sang a melody she had never heard before. 

His own danced along to the same rhythm, causing tiny stars to twinkle inside of him.

**Author's Note:**

> This oneshot was inspired by the song Jewel Box by Jeff Buckley. It's one of my all time favorite songs and you should totally listen to it. The line "you left some stars in my belly" made me think of Zutara since I first listened to it because the ZK fandom has always described the lightning scar as star-shaped. I tried using another meaning for that too, one closest to what I think Jeff meant with the line: something like the feeling of butterflies in your stomach but it never goes away. I also tried adding other elements of the song in this fic, the jewel box (obviously), the "wedding gold" of the palace's decoration, the tears falling like needles on the red blanket to represent "silver studs of promise hide in the red crushed velvet folds", etc. This took place during the series finale, a few moments before Zuko's coronation. Maiko didn't got back together and no Kataang will be happening later. I've always wondered how long after Zuko's coronation the last scene of the gaang in Ba Sing Se happened but I've never found an answer so I decided to go for two months. The Summer Solstice Festival is something I imagine the Southern Water Tribe celebrating every year but now that the war is over it's going to be way bigger. I think Katara and Sokka would invite all their friends to attend. I also love the headcanon that Zuko was passed out for a couple of days after the Agni Kai, it gives us infinite possibilities for angst. In this fic I imagined it happening like this: After the battle Zuko and Katara got inside the Palace. Their friends and allies arrive on the following hours and it's all 'uhul we won, the war is over' for a while. Everything seems fine for maybe 5 hours but then he faints. That flashback happened on the day following the Agni Kai, a little over 24 hours after Zuko passed out. Katara slept on the recamier by his bed during the two nights he was unconscious (despite Iroh's advice to try to get her to sleep comfortably in a room of her own on the second night). When she wakes up in the next morning Zuko is already awake sitting on his bed. She rushes to hug him. Headcanon time: I think Katara feels guilty about Zuko getting another scar due to protecting her since as far as she's aware his scar is something he would like to get rid of. Though she thinks there's no reason for him to want that, she also knows it's his choice to make so I think that when they're adults she would offer to try to heal both of them. He then would decline the offer and she would support his decision and reassure him that he's beautiful and that the scars are nothing to be ashamed of. This would include a lot of scar touching and light caresses of course. 
> 
> I hope you liked it, Selene! I hope 2021 brings you much peace and happiness.


End file.
